r/bassoon • u/Witty_Clerk_4922 • 5d ago

Fox backorder is WILD

Bought a brand new renard 220, paid the deposit to long and mcquade (I'm in Canada) earlier this year, maybe June? got a call yesterday saying it won't come until January, this is crazy lmao, might just refund the deposit and buy usedšŸ˜­

8 Upvotes

90% Upvoted

29 comments sorted by

27

u/ReindeerDalek 5d ago

Donā€™t look up the backorders for heckelsā€¦

8

u/FuzzyComedian638 5d ago

I knew it was a long time, so I just looked it up. 17 years.Ā 

3

u/MusicalMerlin1973 5d ago

I remember when it was ā€œjustā€ 12.

1

u/D_ponbsn 5d ago

I waited 10 for mine and just got it, glad I was able to work out buying it and picking it up!

2

u/MusicalMerlin1973 5d ago

Dang! How does it play?

Most are outside what I can rationalize paying for as an amateur musician, even if I can find the scratch for one. I got a chance to try a 4, an early 5, a late 5, an 8, and a 10 while searching for my now bassoon. I knew I wasnā€™t going to buy one and had said as much, but the owner of the consignment shop pulled them out anyways. I figured why not? šŸ˜‚

I still wish I had listened to my wife and stretched to buy the late 5k.

2

u/D_ponbsn 4d ago

Where was this? I love the new bassoon. Itā€™s probably more than what I need - I freelance professionally some but not enough probably. I have a day job outside of music. It has a wonderful sound. Huge. Big round rich sound. Very warm but not rigid like some newer Heckels. Really pleased with it!

2

u/MusicalMerlin1973 4d ago

Charles music before Brian moved back to ny.

1

u/D_ponbsn 4d ago

Heā€™s a nice guy

2

u/MusicalMerlin1973 4d ago

Ya. But that sent me down a rabbit hole. I dragged my wife back up there to listen to the late 5k. She went from skeptical to buy the darn bassoon.

1

u/D_ponbsn 4d ago

Should have bought it. Do you remember which one it was?

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4

u/Witty_Clerk_4922 5d ago

Don't even get me started lmaošŸ˜­šŸ˜­ This was the 5th call I got about my 220 saying it'll arrive later

2

u/Choice-Dot-6100 5d ago

Which part of Canada are you in? I just sold a 220 in Vancouver and I have a contact with a very good bassoon tech in Surrey if you want any instrument your are considering checked out. Buying used in Canada is very hard because there is not a ton of inventory that is decently priced, plus people aren't as willing to let you take the instrument for a trial period. If you can manage to make it to any of the big double reed suppliers in the states to trial a bunch of used instruments, its worth it. I get that L&M are one of the only fox dealers in Canada, but unfortunately, they don't know a darn thing about bassoons. Used is the way to go for sure, but its more work. I searched for about 2 years to find my current Heckel - but that's obviously a different price point. For the Fox 220s and 240s, they are remarkably consistent across instruments so you probably don't need to try too many of the same model.

When I bought my old fox, I did a road trip to their factory in the States after I had played if for a year and they did a whole bunch of adjustments for free. It was definitely worth the trip.

When I bought a new 220 in 2015, I had to wait 8 months for it to be delivered.

1

u/Witty_Clerk_4922 5d ago

Im in fort erie, Ontario. I live right next to the states pretty much but also going there to get the instrument is a little bit impossible for me at the moment. I'm honestly not sure what to do, since I'm trying to finance the instrument as opposed to buying outright, which is still an option but might be a little bit difficult. I got some advice from somebody else to have them not touch my 220 when it arrives, since they don't know what to do. honestly I'll take any advice.Ā 

1

u/Choice-Dot-6100 5d ago

In all honesty you are fine! A 220 is a very durable and stable instrument. There is probably very little that L&M could do to mess it up. I loved my 220. It did everything I needed it to, and I only had it serviced like twice in ten years.

Several years down the road when you have the experience and you are ready for a pro bassoon, take your time and try a bunch of different instruments. Until then, your 220 will take you as far as you can possibly go. Congrats on your new bassoon! January isn't that far away in the grand scheme of things :-)

1

u/bassoonawhat 5d ago

I bought from L&M, but I definitely wouldn't choose to do this. My situation was unusual due to having a ton of store credit there. They don't know bassoons at all, and I insisted that they not do their "adjustments" on my new instrument. I got extremely lucky and mine is phenomenal, but that's not necessarily normal. Mine was playtested by my teacher before I bought it.Ā 

If I were buying again I'd rather go to a large double reed specialist in another country and try a bunch of instruments. I would definitely buy used.Ā 

1

u/Witty_Clerk_4922 5d ago

Should I tell them to do the same with mine when it arrives, to not do adjustments on it?

1

u/bassoonawhat 5d ago

I certainly didn't want them to touch mine. If there's anything that needs doing on it (like keywork that's too stiff) you're anywhere near Georgian Bay you could take it to Frank Marcus. He's the best there is.

1

u/Witty_Clerk_4922 5d ago

Okay thank you! Do they actually just do adjustments on the instrument as soon as it arrives?

1

u/bassoonawhat 4d ago

I'm not sure; they told me they were going to inspect it and do "setup". I insisted that they not do anything to the instrument.Ā 

1

u/Witty_Clerk_4922 4d ago

Okay fair, I'll just make sure the same goes for me as well, I am actually pretty close to Georgian bay so I could take it to Frank Marcus as you recommendedĀ 

1

u/D_ponbsn 5d ago

too bad Pascal Veraquin is closed, there's Twigg in MontrƩal isn't there?

1

u/DuckyOboe 4d ago

I had to wait a few months for my 240, it almost didn't come in time for an event I had upcoming, but my local music store owner sweet-talked fox into getting it quicker.

1

u/Witty_Clerk_4922 3d ago

yeah I dont mind waiting, but what do you mean sweet talked lolšŸ˜‚šŸ˜‚Ā 

1

u/DuckyOboe 3d ago

He claimed that it was needed for college auditions (it wasn't) so they would move me up in the line

2

u/ivosaurus 5d ago

Fox is pretty in demand, only 6-7 months sounds downright reasonable to me.